Canadian Criminology Today:

Theories and Applications

Seventh Canadian Edition

Chapter 2

Crime Statistics
It’s How We Count

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Learning Objectives
2.1 How has the collection and study of crime statistics
developed through history?
2.2 What are the uses and limitations of crime statistics?
2.3 What are various methods used to collect and
disseminate crime data?
2.4 Assess the correlations between the predominant social
dimensions of crime and criminal behaviour. How do
they assist in explaining criminal behaviour?

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A History of Crime Statistics (1 of 2)
• Inferences based on statistical demographics appear to
be a product of the last 200 years, although some types of
enumeration or people counting existed well over 2000
years ago
• Thomas Malthus in 1798 published his Essay on the
Principle of Population as it Affects the Future
Improvement of Society (p.40)
• ‘Moral statistics’ or social enumerations, were gathered in
hopes of measuring the degree to which crime and conflict
existed in societies.

Demographics: The characteristics of population groups,

usually expressed in statistical form (p.40)
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A History of Crime Statistics (2 of 2)
• André-Michel Guerry (1802–1866)
– Calculated per capita crime rates
• Adolphe Quételet (1796–1864)
– Assessed variation in crime rates based on climate
and people’s sex and age.
• Formed historical basis for the statistical school of
criminology (p. 40)

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Usefulness of Crime Statistics
• Describes the nature and extent of crime.
• Provides empirical data to support criminology theory
development.
• Assists with social policy and program evaluation.
• Provides a picture of risk.
• Provides insight into crime prevention programming (e.g.,
CPTE D)

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Sources of Crime Statistics
• Uniform Crime Reporting Survey (UC R)
– Annual crime statistics by the Canadian Centre for
Justice Statistics (CCJ S).
– Primarily crimes reported to the police (pp.42-47)
• Victimization Survey
– data on surveyed households reporting that they had
been affected by crime.
– The survey is conducted under the General Social
Surveys (G S S) (p.42)

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Uniform Crime Reporting Survey (UC R)
Data collection on:
1. Information on victims: age, sex, victim/accused
relationship, level of injury, type of weapon causing
injury, drug and/or alcohol use
2. Information on the accused: age, sex, type of
charges laid or recommended, drug and/or alcohol
use
3. Information on the circumstances of the incident:
type of violation (or crime), target of violation, types of
property stolen, dollar value of property affected,
dollar value of drugs confiscated, type of weapon
present, time, and type of location of the incident
(p.43)
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Programmatic Problems with
Available Data (1 of 2)
• Only crimes reported to police are included in the UC R.
• UC R is based on founded and unfounded offences (p.44)
• Sexual assault most unreported crime in UC R.
• Inconsistent police reporting methods – a need for
standardized methods.
• Method used to “count” incidents of crime.
• Inconsistent legal definitions – note that all offences are
counted equally regardless of their seriousness (p.44).

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Programmatic Problems with
Available Data (2 of 2)
• As a reporting system, most complaints are made by the
victim, and thus if they do not complain, there is “no crime”

Dark Figure of Crime: unreported and under-reported

criminal activity (p.45)
The most “seriously under-reported crime may in fact be
theft $5000 and under, because the theft of small items
may never make it into police reports and may be
forgotten by victims during interviews with victimization
surveyors” (p.45)
A police-reported Crime Severity Index (CS I) attempts to
bridge some shortcomings (p.47)
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Victimization Surveys (1 of 3)
Characteristics:
• Data is collected through random telephone surveys of
selected households.
• Participants are asked about their experiences with the
criminal justice system and specific types of crimes.
• Includes crimes that have not been reported to police.
• These surveys uncover a large number of crimes that may
have not been reported
Combine with UC R to provide more accurate picture of
crime and criminal activity.

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Victimization Surveys (2 of 3)
Table 2.1 Victimization Incidents Reported by Canadians, by
Type of Offence, 2014
Type of Offence 2014 Number (thousands) Rate
Sexual Assault 633 22
Robbery 190 6
Physical Assault 1422 48
Total violent victimization 2245 76
Break and Enter 441 31
Motor vehicle/parts theft 261 18
Theft of household property 766 54
Vandalism 561 40
Total household 2029 143
victimization
Theft of personal property 2154 73

Source: Statistics Canada, General Social Survey, 2014. Reproduced and distributed on
an “as is” basis with the permission of Statistics Canada.
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Victimization Surveys (3 of 3)
Figure 2.1 Reasons for Not Reporting Victimization Incidents
to the Police, by Type of Offence, 2014

Source: Adapted from Statistics Canada, General Social Survey, 2014. This does not
constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.
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Examples of Victimization Surveys
• Canadian Urban Victimization Survey (CUV S)
• General Social Survey (G S S)
• Violence Against Women Survey (VW S)
• International Crime Victimization Survey (I CV S) (pp.47-49)

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Canadian Urban Victimization Survey
(CUV S)
• Conducted in 1981.
• Solicitor General of Canada.
• Included eight categories of crime.
• Revealed that fewer than 42% of the victimizations
identified in this survey had been reported to the police.

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General Social Survey (GS S)
• Began in 1988 – most recently in 2019 (p.48)
• Conducted by Statistics Canada.
• Conducted every five years.
• Targets Canadians  15 years old
• Eight types of victimization are recorded.
• Details of victimization recorded.
• Demographic information also collected.
• Results presented in Table 2.1 on page 48 of text

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Violence Against Women Survey
(VAW S) (1 of 3)
• Conducted by Statistics Canada in 1993 – the only time
the survey was done.
• Included 12,000 women 18 years and older.
• Examined the amount of physical and sexual violence
experienced by women since age 16.
• Examined perceptions of personal safety.
• One-half of all Canadian women reported at least one
incident of violence.

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Violence Against Women Survey (V
AW S) (2 of 3)
BOX 2.3 HIGHLIGHTS OF THE VIOLENCE AGAINST
WOMEN SURVEY (VAW S)
• About 50% of all Canadian women have experienced at
least one incident of violence since the age of 16.
• Almost 50% of women reported violence by men known to
them, and 25% reported violence by a stranger.
• Approximately 25% of all women have experienced
violence at the hands of a current or past marital partner
(includes common-law unions).
• Roughly 15% of currently married women reported
violence by their spouses; 50% of women with previous
marriages reported violence by a previous spouse.
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Violence Against Women Survey (V
AW S) (3 of 3)
• More than 10% of women who reported violence in a
current marriage have at some point felt that their lives
were in danger.
• About 60% of Canadian women who walk alone in their
own area after dark feel “very” or “somewhat” worried
doing so.
• Women with violent fathers-in-law are at three times the
risk of assault by their partners than are women with
nonviolent fathers-in-law.
Source: Statistics Canada, “The Daily 11-001-XP E.” Released 11/18/1993. Reproduced
and distributed on an “as is” basis with the permission of Statistics Canada.

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The Survey of Safety in Public and
Private Spaces (SSPP S) (1 of 4)
• Conducted by Statistics Canada in 2018
– Designed to collect information on Canadians’ experiences
related to safety in public & private spaces.
– Targeted Canadians over 15 years of age
– Survey randomly selected 106,000 households
– Written questionnaire and telephone interview.
• General trends from the survey included the following:
– over 1/3 of Canadians have been physically or sexually
assaulted since age 25
– women are more likely than men to experience unwanted
sexual behaviour in public places (see Box 2.4 next slide)
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The Survey of Safety in Public and
Private Spaces (SSPP S) (2 of 4)
BOX 2.4 HIGHLIGHTS OF GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE AND
UNWANTED SEXUAL BEHAVIOUR IN CANADA, 2018: INITIAL
FINDINGS FROM THE SURVEY OF SAFETY IN PUBLIC AND
PRIVATE SPACES (SSPP S)
• Women were more likely than men to have been sexually
assaulted in the 12 months preceding the survey. In contrast,
men were more likely to have been physically assaulted.
• Not only were women more likely to experience these
behaviours, the impact of them was also greater. Women were
more likely than men to have changed their routines and to
have experienced negative emotional consequences. Women
were also more likely to have talked to somebody about their
experience following an incident of assault.
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The Survey of Safety in Public and
Private Spaces (SSPP S) (3 of 4)
• Besides gender, being younger, having experienced harsh parenting,
having been physically or sexually abused by an adult during
childhood, and being single, never married all play a role in
experiencing gender-based violence.
• More than 11 million Canadians have been physically or sexually
assaulted since the age of 15. This represents 39 percent of women
and 35 percent of men 15 years or older in Canada, with the gender
difference driven by a much higher prevalence of sexual assault
among women than men (30 percent versus 8 percent).
• Equal proportions of women (4 percent) and men (4 percent) were
victims of violent crime in the 12 months preceding the survey, though
the type of victimization differed as women were more likely to have
been sexually assaulted (3 percent versus 1 percent) and men were
more likely to have been physically assaulted (4 percent versus 2
percent).
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The Survey of Safety in Public and
Private Spaces (SSPP S) (4 of 4)
• The vast majority of incidents of violent crime did not
come to the attention of police: 5 percent of women stated
that police found out about the most serious incident of
sexual assault they experienced, while 26 percent of
women and 33 percent of men who were physically
assaulted said likewise.
• One in five victims of sexual assault—both men and
women—felt blamed for their own victimization. Most
commonly, the perpetrator or the victim’s friends or family
were the source of this feeling.
Source: Adapted from Adam Cotter and Laura Savage, “Gender-based Violence and
Unwanted Sexual Behaviour in Canada, 2018: Initial findings from the Survey of Safety in
Public and Private Places” Juristat, Vol. 39, No. 1, (Minister of Industry, 2019)
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Shortcomings of Victimization
Surveys
• Actual crime may be over-reported.
• Dependent upon memory, honesty of respondents.
• No way to verify information from respondents.
• Do not record information on incidents of “victimless”
crimes.
• Victimization surveys exclude data on homicide,
kidnapping, so-called victimless crimes (public
intoxication, prostitution, and gambling), impaired driving,
drug offences, etc. (p.50)

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Self-Report Surveys Studies
• A self-report survey is “a survey in which respondents,
without fear of disclosure or arrest, are asked to
confidentially report any violations of the criminal law that
they have committed” (p. 52)
• From the perspective of the perpetrator.
• Means of counting crimes and criminals.
• Particularly useful:
– to highlight the relationship between social class and
crime.
– Uncovering undetected crime.
– Note questions on survey in Table 2.2 on page 52

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Shortcomings of Self-Report Studies
• Inaccuracy of information
– Respondent may fail to disclose or exaggerate
behaviour.
– Respondent may not remember. (p.53)
• Lack of standardized collection methods
– Comparable questions.
– Time frames.
– Geographic areas.

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Social Dimensions of Crime
• Reveal a relationship between a measurable variable and
crime.
• “Crime does not occur in a vacuum. It involves real people
– human perpetrators and victims” (p.53)
• Correlation does not necessarily imply causation (p.54).
• Correlates of crime are those variables “observed to be
related to criminal activity, such as age, sex and gender,
ethnicity, and social class. Often classified into static and
dynamic factors” (p.54).

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Age and Crime
• Age is one of the strongest correlates of criminal
behaviour (p.55).
• Criminal activity is associated more with youth than any
other stage of life.
• Between ages of 15 and 24 years experienced personal
victimization at rates greater than the rates for other
groups (p.55).
• Those 15 to 24 years of age had a rate of 163 per 1000
compared to a rate of 68 per 1000 for the group aged 35
to 44 (p.55)

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Age and Crime in Canada
Figure 2.2 Rate of Offending, by Sex and Age of the
Accused, Canada, 2017

Note: Rates are calculated on the basis of 100,000 population aged 12 to 89 years.
Population based upon July 1st estimates from Statistics Canada, Demography Division.
Excludes accused persons where the sex or age was unknown. Excludes Crimnal Code
traffic violations, drug violations and other federal statutes. While police may identify
children under the age of 12 as accused in criminal incidents, children cannot be charged
with an offence under the Crimnal Code.
Source: Laura Savage, “Female Offenders in Canada, 2017”, Juristat, Vol. 39, No. 1,
(Ottawa: Industry Canada, 2017)
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Gender and Crime (1 of 2)
• Males account for 75 percent of those adults accused of a
criminal offence (p.56)
• Rate of adult males charged with a criminal offence has
been declining over the past 20 years (p.57)
• Property crimes accounted for largest proportion of crimes
when females were accused (35 percent).
• Lower female criminality due to:
– cultural factors
– role expectations
– reluctance to arrest and prosecute women

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Gender and Crime (2 of 2)
Figure 2.3 Persons Accused of Violating the Criminal Code,
by Sex of the Accused and Violation Type, 2017

Note: Rates are calculated on the basis of 100 000 population aged 12 to 89 years.
Population based upon July 1st estimates from Statistics Canada, Demography Division.
Accused persons aged 90 years and older are excluded from analyses due to possible
instances of miscoding of unknown age within this age category. Excludes cases where the
sex of the accused is unknown. Counts are based on the most serious offence within a
violation. Excludes Crimnal Code traffic violations, drug violations and other federal
statutes.
Source: Laura Savage, “Female Offenders in Canada, 2017”, Juristat, Vol. 39, No. 1,
(Ottawa: Industry Canada, 2017)
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Ethnicity and Crime
• Unlike data from the United States, Canadian crime
statistics do not routinely report on the racial and ethnic
makeup of offenders. Statistics come from studies using
incarcerated offenders or inmate profiles (p.58).
• Aboriginal peoples are over-represented in Canada’s
correctional facilities (p.59). The role of social and
economic inequality and the realities of past and current
living conditions are often cited as causes contributing to
criminality among Indigenous persons (p.59)
• Aboriginal peoples are more likely to be victims of violent
offences.

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Ethnicity and Crime in Canada
Figure 2.4 Percentage of Total
Offender Population (by Race,
Canada)
• The federal offender population is
becoming more diverse, as
evidenced by the decrease in the
proportion of Caucasian offenders
(from 60.8% in 2013–14 to 56.3% in
2017–18).
• Between 2013–14 and 2017–18,
the Indigenous population increased
by 14.7% (from 4856 to 5572).
Source: Corrections and Conditional
• Indigenous offenders represented Release Statistical Overview: Annual
24.0% of the 2017–18 total federal Report, page 49, Public Safety
offender population and 26.3% of Canada, 2019. Reproduced with the
permission of the Minister of Public
2017–18 warrant of committal Works and Government Services
admissions to federal jurisdiction. Canada, 2013.
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Socio-economic Status and Crime (1 of 3)
• A number of studies have pointed to a significant
correlation between lower socio-economic status and
criminal activity (p.61)
• Measured by employment and levels of education.
• Disagreement on the correlation between social class and
crime (p.61) – ongoing studies may provide future
answers.
• People from all social classes commit crimes.
• Socio-economic factors correlated to crime can also be
viewed by spatial location – Crime Severity Index (CS I)

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Socio-economic Status and Crime (2 of 3)
Figure 2.5 Police-reported Crime Severity Index, by Census
Metropolitan Area, 2018

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Socio-economic Status and Crime (3 of 3)
1. A CM A consists of one or more neighbouring municipalities situated around a major
urban core. A CM A must have a total population of at least 100 000 of which 50 000 or
more live in the urban core. To be included in the CM A, other adjacent municipalities must
have a high degree of integration with the central urban area, as measured by commuting
flows derived from census data. A CM A typically comprises more than one police service.
2. CM A populations have been adjusted to follow policing boundaries.
3. The Oshawa CM A is excluded from this chart due to the incongruity between the police
service jurisdictional boundaries and the CM A boundaries.
4. As of the 2016 Census, Belleville and Lethbridge became new CMA s.
5. Gatineau refers to the Quebec part of the Ottawa-Gatineau CM A.
6. Ottawa refers to the Ontario part of the Ottawa-Gatineau CM A.
Note: Police-reported statistics may be affected by differences in the way police services
deal with offences. In some instances, police or municipalities might choose to deal with
some offences using municipal bylaws or provincial provisions rather than Crimnal Code
provisions. The Crime Severity Index is based on Crimnal Code incidents, including traffic
offences, as well as other federal statute violations. The base index was set at 100 for 2006
for Canada. Populations are based upon July 1st estimates from Statistics Canada,
Demography Division.
Source: Greg Moreau, Police-reported crime statistics in Canada, 2018, Juristat, Vol. 39,
No. 1, (Ottawa, Minister of Industry, 2019).
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Summary of Social Dimensions of
Crime

Age Sex
Mostly younger Mostly males
individuals

Ethnicity Social Class

Overrepresentation of Mostly lower
Aboriginal Canadians socio-economic
class

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